1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for washing clothes in an automatic clothes washer and more particularly to a method for redistributing articles of clothing within the wash chamber of an automatic clothes washer from a generally horizontal orientation to a generally vertical orientation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic clothes washers are a common household appliance. They typically comprise a perforated basket for holding garments, sheets, towels, and other fabric items, and an imperforate tub containing a wash liquid comprising water or a mixture of water and detergent. A clothes mover is coaxially mounted in the bottom of the basket and adapted for angular oscillation in order to agitate the garments. In one configuration, the basket, clothes mover, and tub are oriented about a vertical axis.
Traditionally, the vertical axis clothes mover can be configured as an impeller or an agitator, which can be in combination with an auger that extends along the vertical axis approximately the height of the tub. The impeller is typically a low-profile base element having a circular periphery, with vanes extending from the element. The agitator typically has a base from which extends a vertical post.
It is generally understood that a deep fill wash cycle refers to a cloth to water ratio that, when combined with the action of the clothes mover, produces fluid motion which significantly aids in the motion of the cloth even if the actual water level in the machine is not near the top of the wash basket. The garments are considered suspended in the free fluid, or submerged, when there is sufficient fluid power to directly result in movement of the garments.
Likewise a low fill wash cycle, also called a low water wash cycle, generally refers to a cloth to water ratio that, when combined with the action of the clothes mover, produces insufficient fluid motion to directly result in cloth motion regardless of the direction of fluid motion. In fact, the resulting cloth motion may still be present even if very little free fluid is present. In this process, a garment is not considered to be suspended or submerged in the free fluid even if the actual water level is near the top of the basket or near the top of the clothes load.
In a vertical axis clothes washer with a deep fill wash cycle where the clothes are completely submerged, reciprocal movement of an agitator moves the garments along a toroidal, or donut-shaped, path extending radially inwardly toward the center of the basket, downwardly along the vertical axis, radially outwardly toward the outer wall of the basket, and upwardly along the perimeter of the basket where they repeat the cycle. One full cycle along this path is commonly referred to as a “rollover.” This movement, and the structure and operation of a vertical axis clothes washer, are described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,722, which is fully incorporated by reference herein.
In a low water cycle, such as where the clothes are wetted but not submerged, the movement of the clothes by reciprocating the impeller moves the garments in an opposite direction than that of the agitator with a deep fill in what has been termed an “inverse toroidal rollover.” This movement is also described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,722.
When a clothes load is placed in a basket having a clothes mover that does not contain a center shaft or auger, such as with a low-profile impeller, the garments naturally form multiple, generally horizontal layers. Each garment tends to spread out into a thin layer as it is placed in the basket. This produces a load that is interlayered with the layers extending over the center of the basket and the impeller. When the impeller is oscillated to move the load in a toroidal or inverse toroidal direction, the portion of the clothes load being urged along the center of the basket to either the inside or outside of the impeller must work its way through the multiple horizontal layers. It can take a substantial period of time to reorient a clothes load so that it can efficiently move in a toroidal or inverse toroidal direction. This may comprise a significant portion of the wash cycle, which may result in inadequate washing of the garments due to the impediment to optimal movement.
It would be desirable to have a vertical axis automatic clothes washer that can be operated to optimize the reorientation of the garments in order to facilitate the garment movement necessary for effective washing of the garments.